French grammar, one clear example at a time

French grammar is the set of patterns that tell you which word goes where and how it changes. This page is a map of French grammar in the order a beginner meets it, with one sourced line and one example on each topic. Each topic links to the full page on this site. For the tenses side by side, see French tenses. For a tap-to-answer drill, try French grammar exercises.

What is French grammar, and where do you start?

French grammar covers the nouns and the small words around them, the pronouns, the way a sentence is put together, and the verb forms. The order below is this page’s suggestion, not a rule from any source. It starts with the words before a noun, moves to sentences and questions, then spends the most time on verbs.

French examples on this page are quoted from the Québec language office (OQLF) and its Banque de dépannage linguistique, an online reference organized by topic. The English glosses are ours.

What are the French grammar rules for nouns and the words around them?

Articles and gender

The word before a noun is a determiner. The OQLF now uses déterminants for what grammars used to call articles, and it lists definite, indefinite and partitive ones [1]. Determiners take their gender and number from the noun, so the determiner is often the first clue to gender [1]. The OQLF’s example: La fenêtre est ouverte. (The window is open.) [1]

Full page: French articles and noun gender.

Adjectives

An adjective agrees in gender and number with the noun it goes with [2]. Some go after the noun and some before it: un hiver interminable (an endless winter), un gros fumeur (a heavy smoker) [2].

Full page: French adjectives.

Possessives

A possessive varies with the owner and agrees with the thing owned [4]. That is why the French for “my” has three forms, mon, ma and mes [4]. Before a feminine word that starts with a vowel or a silent h, the form is mon [4]. The OQLF’s examples include mon livre and notre maison [4].

Full page: French possessive adjectives.

What are the grammar rules in French for sentences?

Pronouns

A personal pronoun shows the grammatical person of what it stands for: the speaker (je, nous), the person spoken to (tu, vous), or the person or thing spoken about (il, elles, le, la, les) [3].

Full page: French pronouns.

Prepositions

A preposition is an invariable word, and it must be followed by something it introduces [5]. It can express time (avant, depuis, en) or place (dans, chez, sur) [5]. Example: Marie mange chez ses parents. (Marie eats at her parents’ place.) [5]

Full page: French prepositions.

Sentence structure

The OQLF defines a complément direct as a word or group that depends on the verb, usually with no preposition, and that usually sits to its right [6]. The exception is a conjoint pronoun (me, te, le, vous and so on), which goes to the left of the verb [6]. The imperative differs [15]. Compare Il étudie les langues anciennes à l’université. (He studies ancient languages at university.) with Elle vous voit souvent les fins de semaine. (She sees you often on weekends.) [6]

Full page: French sentence structure.

Question words

The OQLF lists four ways to ask a direct question: invert the subject and verb, repeat the subject with a pronoun after the verb, use a question word, or use est-ce que [7]. A statement with a question mark also works [7]. Examples: Pourquoi cette voisine est-elle fâchée ? (Why is this neighbour angry?) and Tu pars dans un mois pour le Brésil ? (You leave in a month for Brazil?) [7]

Full page: French question words.

What are the French grammar rules for the present tense?

This page takes the present first. The OQLF says regular -er verbs share one set of endings and regular -ir verbs another, while irregular verbs vary [9]. In the plural, all regular verbs take -ons, -ez and -ent [9].

Regular -er verbs are more than 90 % of verbs, and new verbs almost always follow that model [8]. Regular -ir verbs, like finir and choisir, have a participle ending in -issant [8]. The OQLF classes verbs ending in -re, such as boire and prendre, as irregular [8]. Traditional grammars sort verbs into three groups: regular -er, regular -ir, and the rest [8]. Other classifications exist, and the OQLF says the aim is the same: to show what verbs have in common [8].

Full pages: -ir verbs and -re verbs.

What are the grammar rules in French for other tenses and moods?

Passé composé

The passé composé is avoir or être in the present, plus the past participle [10]. It can show a finished action tied to the present, and it can simply place an event in the past [10]. Example: Julian est allé à l’opéra la semaine dernière. (Julian went to the opera last week.) [10]

Full page: the passé composé.

Imparfait

The imparfait shows a past action in progress, without saying when it started or ended [11]. Example: J’avais vingt ans et je croyais que tout était possible. (I was twenty and believed anything was possible.) [11]

Full page: the imparfait.

Future

The simple future names actions or states to come, and often comes with markers such as demain or la semaine prochaine [12]. Example: Nous irons vous rejoindre en voiture. (We will join you by car.) [12]

Full page: the French future tense.

Conditional

Most linguists and grammarians now treat the conditional as a tense of the indicative [13]. The OQLF calls it a hypothetical future. Its endings add the future’s -r- to the imparfait endings -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez and -aient [13]. Compare que tu aimeras (will like) with que tu aimerais (would like) [13].

Full page: the French conditional.

Subjunctive

The subjunctive is a mood for what is doubted, wished, ordered or needed, and not stated as a sure fact [14]. It usually appears in a subordinate clause [14]. Example: Je doute qu’il vienne de lui-même. (I doubt he will come of his own accord.) [14]

Full page: the French subjunctive.

Imperative

In the imperative, the subject pronoun is not said [15]. The tu form of -er verbs loses its final s: tu chantes becomes Chante [15].

Full page: the French imperative.

Reflexive verbs

A reflexive pronoun, the same person as the subject, sits between the subject and the verb [16]. In compound tenses these verbs always take être [16]. Example: Je me suis réjoui de cette bonne nouvelle. (I was delighted by this good news.) [16]

Full page: reflexive verbs.

Do you need a French grammar textbook or booklet?

This page is a map, not a French grammar textbook or a French grammar booklet. It gives one line per topic so you can see how the pieces fit, and each topic’s own page goes deeper. For a long reference, the OQLF pages cited below are organized under headings such as La grammaire and Le verbe [8].

How can you check your French grammar?

To check your French grammar, answer from memory first, then compare with the rule. Try the five questions below. They use only what this page states.

For a longer drill, use French grammar exercises. To compare how tenses fit together, use French tenses.

Common mistakes

• Learning the noun without its determiner. The determiner is often the first clue to the noun’s gender [1].
• Keeping the s on the tu imperative of an -er verb. It is Chante, not Chantes [15].
• Using avoir with reflexive verbs in compound tenses. They always take être [16].
• Treating the conditional as a separate mood. Most linguists and grammarians now treat it as a tense of the indicative [13].
• Putting a conjoint pronoun (me, te, le, vous) after the verb. It goes to the left of it, except in the imperative [6][15].
• Treating every -ir verb as regular. Regular ones have a participle in -issant, and the rest are irregular [8].
• Trusting a grammar summary as final, this one included. Reference pages are updated. Compare each source page’s date with the date at the top of this one.

See also: faire conjugation, French negation, French plural and French adverbs.

Sources